Livestock farming in Greece is being led to absolute disaster, as the high contagious pox virus is decimating livestock, especially sheep and goats. Breeders are desperate as the measures that have been announced are not working and compensation has remained in words. At the same time, vaccination proposals are persistently rejected by the Ministry of Rural Development, possibly for reasons related to the mismanagement of payments in the shadow of the OPEKEPE EU funds scandal.
On Thursday, the second meeting of the animal diseases management committee was held, which probably confirmed that serious problems remain, new decisions are not being made, while the issues of animal feed and milk production are not being resolved, essentially leading the sector to despair.
At the same time, the virus keeps making the rounds and infecting animals, while authorities in Kozani, northern Greece, ordered the culling of 200 sheep and imposed strict movement bans after a confirmed case of sheep pox, aiming to contain the spread of the virus.
In the month of August 650 livestock farms have been reportedly affected.
However the exact number of culled animals is not known because the Rural Development Ministry does not bother to publish monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, yearly or even …century reports.
According to European Union regulations the culling of entire affected flocks or herds upon the detection of a case of sheep and goat pox is a must to control its spread.
Culling occurred in regions like Evros, Kavala, Rodopi, Xanthi, Larisa, Magnisia, and Korinthia in response to outbreaks, with the total number of culled animals varying by the outbreak and location.
Highly contagious virus & financial disaster
The highly contagious pox virus (Capripoxvirus) appeared in the country in summer 2024 and is already estimated that over 220,000 animals have been culled in total, while the killings continue and will continue. There were rumors that the virus was first detected in April but there were no measures due to the Easter.
Almost 10% of the sheep already been lost, the disease is ongoing and if one adds also the losses from the plague and the floods caused by Storm Daniel (September 2023), the lost livestock is estimated to have raised to over 300,000 animals in just two years.
Nowadays, mostly affected is Elassona, and in recent days also in Kozani and Imathia, prefectures in western Macedonia.
The region of Elassona has the largest production of goat and sheep milk in the country. With the virus and the culling, the production of emblematic products such as feta cheese is also threatened.
And not only in Elassona: The pox outbreaks have a heavy toll on Greece’s agricultural sector and its economy, particularly given the country’s high number of goats and sheep, which are essential for producing feta.
The Ministry of Rural Development
Minister of Rural Development Kostas Tsiaras is distributing the “responsibility” to livestock farmers and the regional governments.
He urged farmers to “full compliance with biosecurity measures” and even threatens them that “concealing pox cases in livestock entails serious criminal liability, an issue that will be investigated by the courts and will result in strict sanctions” as he characteristically warned.
In an interview to OPEN TV on Thursday, the minister rejected pox vaccinations for the animals claiming that
- no European country is using such vaccines for the whole livestock
- the vaccines have not been adequate tested
- they don’t know how long the immunity after vaccination last
- companies have told them they won’t buy the sheep and goats if vaccinated
What he did not say was that:
- Spain vaccinates livestock locally and has not complained that “companies” do not buy the animals.
- Why there is no outbreak similar to Greek extend in other Balkan countries or Turkey for example?
Pox outbreak, gov’t policies and the OPEKEPE scandal
There are two factors linked to the OPEKEPE scandal currently investigated by the European Union prosecutor for distribution of EU agricultural funds worth millions of euros to fake farmers and breeders.
Factor 1: Due to fictitious declarations by the fake farmers the real number of livestock number in Greece is much lower that the fake number declared with the purpose to receive thousands of euros in EU funds.
Factor 2: the fake breeders who had declared as their own a specific number of livestock had moved real animals from real pens – against a payment, of course, – just to present them to controlling authorities. They did so even during the transport ban due to the pox outbreak, thus violating the biosecurity measures and bringing the virus to other areas and regions.
The technical advisor of the Hellenic Livestock Association (SEK), Thomas Moschos made some revelations that confirm already existing suspicions.
Speaking to media, Moschos stressed that the virus outbreak has literally led sheep and goat farmers to a “production standstill.”
He blamed the ministry for its vaccines rejection saying:
“there is evidence of successful implementation in other countries (e.g. Morocco), while there is also a relevant recommendation from the World Health Organization for a similar protocol.”
He estimated, however, that the refusal of the Greek side is also linked to the fact that:
“if the EU requests the vaccine, it is most likely that a committee will be sent for vaccination and then the real number of animals in Greece will be revealed (fewer than declared), so the imposition of a new fine is rather certain.”
Moschos explained that Greece has 18.5 million sheep and goats declared to the ministry, while 11 million have been declared to the European Union and the actual number of animals is just over 5 million (over 3 million sheep and 2 million goats), that is, in Europe we have declared twice as many, linking this situation to the OPEKEPE scandal.
He added that due to the pox disease, Greece is not considered “clean,” which primarily may affect the exports of feta cheese, while in the domestic market the lack of milk will lead to large price increases in feta cheese and other cheese products.
The SEK, however, will investigate in the coming period the milk balances in relation to previous years for the production of feta cheese, given that there is a 10% drop in production due to the culls. In particular it will request production control in all industries, control of balances and samples at the final points, in order to clarify the quality of the feta cheese and what type of milk it is produced from.
The SEK believes that the measures that the government has taken to date have not worked, the ministry refuses vaccination considering that it will affect feta exports with exclusions, etc., while it claims that no European country has proceeded with vaccination.
In relation to the ministry’s responsibilities regarding the failure to slaughter animals on time, the failure to compensate and destroy animal feed, in accordance with European regulations, and the failure to compensate for disinfection, the political leadership has thrown the blame on the rgioanl authorities, while proposing stricter measures with large fines for those livestock farmers who conceal the disease.
Hopes are now lay in the upcoming month, as September is considered a critical month, with no lactation, reduced need for meat and the movements of herds are limited, Deputy Rural Development Minister Christos Kellas stated two days ago in Elassona during a broad information meeting on the sheep & goats pox.
Kellas was “greeted” in the area by angry livestock farmers who held a banner reading: “Your policies brought the pox to the whole country and to Elassona.”
PS next to the OPEKEPE scandal and the fictitious sheep and goat numbers, two more factors are important:
that the fake breeders who declared as their own a specific number of livestock have moved real animals from other pens just to present them ahead of authorities controls. They did so even during the transport ban due to the pox virus, thus violating the biosafety and bringing the virus to other areas and regions.
